news 2010

Science | Health 03 Nov 10 At a global scale, the sickle cell gene is most commonly found in areas with historically high levels of malaria, adding geographical support to the hypothesis that the gene, whilst potentially deadly, avoids disappearing through natural selection by providing protection against malaria.

PA 297/10 It is the second most deadly disease in the Western world and one of the most feared diagnoses a patient can face. Now, a new book penned by a Nottingham academic is aiming to improve our understanding of cancer so we can better deal with its often devastating consequences. Cancer: A Beginner's Guide is the first book of its kind covering all of the issues related to the disease in a clear and straightforward way, rather than concentrating on just one particular scientific aspect.

Full-term babies are born with a key collection of networks already formed in their brains, according to new research that challenges some previous theories about the brain's activity and how the brain develops. Researchers led by a team from the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London used functional MRI scanning to look at 'resting state' networks in the brains of 70 babies, born at between 29 and 43 weeks of development, who were receiving treatment at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Arthritis drugs could help prevent memory loss after surgery, study suggests Anti-inflammatory drugs currently used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis may also help prevent cognitive problems after surgery, according to a new study. Imperial College London Press Release Monday 1 November 2010 Anti-inflammatory drugs currently used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis may also help prevent cognitive problems after surgery, according to a new study by researchers at Imperial College London and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Study of babies' brain scans sheds new light on the brain's unconscious activity and how it develops Researchers find that full-term babies are born with a key collection of networks already formed in their brains Full-term babies are born with a key collection of networks already formed in their brains, according to new research that challenges some previous theories about the brain's activity and how the brain develops.

Liverpool, UK - 28 October 2010: Scientists at the University of Liverpool have completed the first major review of diagnostic methods and treatments for a rapidly evolving virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease in children. The virus, called enterovirus 71, is closely related to poliovirus, and was first detected in California in the 1960s.

Liverpool, UK - 28 October 2010: Psychologists at the University of Liverpool have called for tighter advertising regulations after a study revealed unhealthy foods are more likely to be advertised during children¿s peak viewing times than at any other point in the broadcasting schedule. The researchers, in partnership with the Cancer Council, Australia, studied 12,618 food advertisements from 11 countries and found that 67 per cent endorsed unhealthy food.

Study on effects of anti-obesity drug on the brain paves way for more effective treatments. Scientists have revealed that an anti-obesity drug changes the way the brain responds to appetising, high-calorie foods in obese individuals. This insight may aid the development of new anti-obesity drugs which reduce the activity in the regions of the brain stimulated by the sight of tasty foods.

Heroin users prescribed methadone to help them control their addiction are more at risk of death at the beginning and end of treatment than at any other time during treatment, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in the BMJ. However, the overall risk of death for prescribed-methadone users is still lower than the risk of death out of treatment.

Swine flu variant linked to fatal cases might have disabled the clearing mechanism of lungs, study suggests A variant of last year's pandemic influenza linked to fatal cases carried a mutation that enabled it to infect a different subset of cells lining the airway, according to new research. A variant of last year's pandemic influenza linked to fatal cases carried a mutation that enabled it to infect a different subset of cells lining the airway, according to new research.

UCL scientists Dr Lewis Dartnell and Dr Petra Boynton explain their motivation for posing for Geek Calendar, a project in aid of libel reform that launches this week. "The Geek Calendar is a fantastic venture started by three expert science communicators: Dr Alice Bell (Imperial College London), Mun-Keat Looi and Louise Crane (Wellcome Trust).

Malarial mosquitoes are evolving into new species, say Imperial researchers Studies show that two strains of malarial mosquito have substanial genetic differences - News release Two strains of the type of mosquito responsible for the majority of malaria transmission in Africa have evolved such substantial genetic differences that they are becoming different species, according to researchers behind two new studies published today .

The amount that people over 50 in England spend on life's basics ' food, fuel and clothing - has increased significantly in the last 4-5 years, with the poorest being the most affected, according to the latest results from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). A quarter of households experienced a 10 percentage point or more increase in the share of their income devoted to basics between 2004/5 and 2008/9, and spending on domestic fuel alone rose by over a third in real terms over this period.

Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way.

Liverpool, UK - 20 October 2010: Researchers at the University of Liverpool have shown that parasitic infection in voles can help improve understanding of similar diseases in humans and other animals. The findings of the work could help with the future prediction and control of parasitic diseases in animals.

19 October 2010 Research brings cure for Parkinson´s disease a step closer An international collaboration led by academics at the University of Sheffield, has shed new light into Parkinson´s disease, which could help with the development of cures or treatments in the future.

19 Oct 2010 A team of scientists led by the University of Manchester have reported an important breakthrough and simplification in the control of oral anticoagulation, the blood thinning treatment with warfarin and similar drugs currently given to approximately 1 million patients in the UK for thrombotic disorders.

Genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to psoriasis are reported in five papers published online this week . Psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent skin disease, and one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases, with a global prevalence of 2-3 per cent. One of the studies was led by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College London and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University, and involved multiple UK institutions.

14 Oct 2010 Cancer is a modern, man-made disease caused by environmental factors such as pollution and diet, a study by University of Manchester scientists has strongly suggested. The study of remains and literature from ancient Egypt and Greece and earlier periods – carried out at Manchester's KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology and published in Nature – includes the first histological diagnosis of cancer in an Egyptian mummy.

Researchers have discovered a compound that could be used to create drugs to help prevent memory loss linked to ageing. The University study found that the compound significantly improved memory and brain function in ageing mice within just 10 days. The next step is to conduct further studies with our preclinical candidate to prove that the compound is safe to take into clinical trials, hopefully within a year.